Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing the same

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor device is manufactured by etching a semiconductor substrate including an active region, forming a bit line contact hole from which the active region is protruded, forming a first spacer exposing a top of the active region at each of an inner wall and a bottom of the bit line contact hole, forming a bit line contact plug and a bit line over the exposed active region, and forming a second spacer over the semiconductor substrate including not only the bit line contact plug but also the bit line.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The priority of Korean patent application No. 10-2010-0128572 filed on15 Dec. 2010, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated in itsentirety by reference, is claimed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a semiconductor deviceand a method for manufacturing the same, and more particularly to asemiconductor device including a Global Bit Line (GBL) and a method formanufacturing the same.

In recent times, technologies of 40 nm or less have been applied tosemiconductor devices so that a Global Bit Line (GBL) process has beenproposed. However, if misalignment between a bit line contact and a bitline occurs, the GBL process unavoidably generates a poor self-alignedcontact (SAC) between a bit line contact and a storage node contact. Ifa thick bit line spacer is formed to solve the above-mentioned problem,a Not-Open phenomenon of a storage node contact occurs. In addition, ifthe bit line contact spacer is formed thick, resistance of the bit linecontact is increased. In order to prevent the increasing resistance ofthe bit line contact, an inner GBL process has been proposed. However,the inner GBL process is disadvantageous in that it makes difficult aSAC contact process, and increases parasitic capacitance (Cb) betweenthe bit line and a plate electrode. Increased parasitic capacitance (Cb)has a negative influence upon a sensing margin of the entiresemiconductor device, resulting in deterioration of devicecharacteristics.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to providing asemiconductor device and a method for manufacturing the same thatsubstantially obviate one or more problems due to limitations anddisadvantages of the related art.

An embodiment of the present invention relates to a semiconductor deviceand a method for manufacturing the same, which can improve a process forforming an inner bit line so as to improve device characteristics.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a semiconductordevice includes a bit line contact hole including a protruded activeregion; a first spacer formed over a sidewall and bottom of the bit linecontact hole so as to expose a top of the active region; a bit linecontact plug and a bit line formed over the exposed active region; and asecond spacer formed over the semiconductor substrate including not onlythe bit line contact plug but also the bit line.

Each of the first spacer and the second spacer may include a nitridefilm.

The first spacer formed over the bottom of the bit line contact hole maybe formed to be level to the protruded active region.

A critical dimension (CD) of the bit line contact hole may be largerthan a short-axis-directional CD of the active region. A criticaldimension (CD) of the bit line contact plug may be smaller than a CD ofthe bit line contact hole.

The bit line contact plug may include polysilicon. The bit line may beformed in a laminated structure of a barrier metal layer, a bit lineconductive layer, and a hard mask layer.

The second spacer may fill a space between the bit line contact plug andthe bit line contact hole.

The portion of the first spacer formed over the bottom of the bit linecontact hole may be formed to have a larger thickness than the portionof the first spacer formed over the sidewall of the bit line contacthole.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method formanufacturing a semiconductor device includes etching a semiconductorsubstrate including an active region, and forming a bit line contacthole from which the active region is protruded; forming a first spacerexposing a top of the active region over sidewalls and a bottom of thebit line contact hole; forming a bit line contact plug and a bit lineover the exposed active region; and forming a second spacer over thesemiconductor substrate including not only the bit line contact plug butalso the bit line.

In the forming of the bit line contact hole, a critical dimension (CD)of the bit line contact hole may be larger than a short-axis-directionalCD of the active region.

The forming of the first spacer may include depositing an insulationfilm in the bit line contact hole including the protruded active region;and performing an etch process until the top of the protruded activeregion is exposed, so that the insulation film remains over an sidewalland bottom of the bit line contact hole.

The etch process may be a lateral etch process. The lateral etch processmay be performed using a Light Etch Treatment (LET) scheme, The lateraletch process may be performed using a wet etch scheme. The etch processmay be performed using a gas including any of SF₆, O₂, N₂, HBr and acombination thereof.

The forming of the bit line contact plug and the bit line may includeforming a polysilicon layer, a barrier metal layer, a bit lineconductive layer, and a hard mask layer over the bit line contact holein which the first spacer is formed; forming a mask pattern defining abit line over the hard mask layer; and etching the hard mask layer, thebit line conductive layer, the barrier metal layer, and the polysiliconlayer using the mask pattern defining the bit line as an etch mask.

The barrier metal layer may be formed of any of a titanium (Ti) film, atitanium nitride (TiN) film, and a combination thereof. The bit lineconductive layer may be formed of a material including tungsten (W). Thebit line hard mask layer may be formed of a material including a nitridefilm.

In the etching of the polysilicon layer, the polysilicon layer may bethe bit line contact plug. In the forming of the second spacer, thesecond spacer may be formed to bury the bit line contact hole formedover sidewalls of the bit lie contact plug.

The insulation film may be formed of a material including a nitridefilm. The method may further include, after forming the second spacer,forming a storage node contact plug adjacent to the bit line.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, Asemiconductor device comprising: a trench disposed in a substrate,wherein a bottom of the trench is at a first level, an uplifted activeregion disposed in the trench, wherein a top of the uplifted activeregion is at a second level higher than the first level, a bit linepattern disposed over the uplifted active region and coupled to theuplifted active region, a first spacer disposed over a bottom of thetrench and extending over a sidewall of the trench, wherein a top of thefirst spacer formed over the bottom of the trench is at a third level,and a second spacer disposed between the first spacer and the bit linepattern. The third level is substantially the same as the second level.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description of the present invention areexemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide furtherexplanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A to 1D are cross-sectional views illustrating a generalsemiconductor device and a method for manufacturing a semiconductordevice according to the related art.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a semiconductor deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 3A to 3G are cross-sectional views illustrating a method formanufacturing the semiconductor device shown in FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the presentinvention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be usedthroughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. Asemiconductor device and a method for manufacturing the same accordingto embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1A to 1D are cross-sectional views illustrating a generalsemiconductor device and a method for forming the same according to therelated art.

Referring to FIG. 1A, a device isolation trench defining an activeregion 13 is formed by etching a semiconductor substrate 10. An oxidefilm fills the device isolation trench so that a device isolation film15 is formed. Referring to FIG. 1B, the semiconductor substrate 10including the active region 13 and the device isolation film 15 isetched so that a bit line contact hole 17 is formed. In this case, anactive region 13 protrudes from a center part of the bit line contacthole 17 is formed because of a difference in etch selection ratiobetween the active region 13 and the device isolation film 15.Subsequently, a spacer insulation film 20 is deposited along theprotruded active region 13 and an inner surface of the bit line contacthole 17. The spacer insulation film 20 may be formed of a nitride film.

Referring to FIG. 1C, the spacer insulation film 20 is etched by anetch-back process, so that a spacer 20 a is formed at an inner wall ofthe bit line contact hole 17 and sidewalls of the protruded activeregion 13. A laminated structure of a polysilicon layer, a barrier metallayer (not shown), a bit line conductive layer 30 a, and a bit line hardmask layer 30 b is formed over the entire surface including the bit linecontact hole 17 including the spacer 20 a. Thereafter, after a maskpattern (not shown) defining a bit line is formed over the bit line hardmask layer 30 b, and the above-mentioned laminated structure is etchedusing the mask pattern (not shown) as an etch mask, so that a bit linecontact plug 25 and a bit line 30 are formed.

Subsequently, a second spacer 35 is formed over the entire surfaceincluding the bit line 30 and the bit line contact plug 25. The secondspacer 35 fills in an empty space formed at a side of the bit linecontact plug 25. However, as the depth of the bit line contact hole 17increases, the corresponding depth (d1) (See FIG. 1C) of the secondspacer 35 also increases. Therefore, the second spacer 35 is unlikely tocompletely fill the bit line contact hole 17, resulting in a void.

Referring to FIG. 1D, an interlayer insulation film 40 is formed overthe second spacer 35, and a storage node contact hole 45 is formed byetching the interlayer insulation film 40 and the second spacer 35formed over the semiconductor substrate 10.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a semiconductor deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, a bit line contact hole 107 is formed in thesemiconductor substrate 100 including the active region 103 and thedevice isolation film 105. The active region 103 may protrude from acenter part of the bit line contact hole 107. The active region 103shown in FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the active region 103taken along a short-axis of the active region 103.

In addition, a first spacer 110 a is formed over sidewalls and thebottom of the bit line contact hole 107. In an embodiment, the firstspacer 110 a may include a nitride film. The portion of the first spacer110 a that is formed at the bottom of the bit line contact hole 107 isformed to be thicker than the portion of the first spacer 110 a that isformed over the sidewalls of the bit line contact hole 107. In addition,the portion of the first spacer 110 a that is formed at the bottom ofthe bit line contact hole 107 is formed in such a manner that a surfaceof the protruded active region 103 is exposed. That is, in anembodiment, the portion of the first spacer 110 a that is formed at thebottom of the bit line contact hole 107 may be formed to be level with atop of the protruded active region 103.

In addition, a bit line contact plug 115 and a bit line 120 are formedover the active region 103. The bit line contact plug 115 may includepolysilicon, and the bit line 120 may include a barrier metal layer (notshown), a bit line conductive layer 120 a and a bit line hard mask layer120 b. In an embodiment, the bit line contact hole 107 may not becompletely filled, resulting in a void at a side of the bit line contactplug 115. A second spacer 125 is formed over the entire surface of thesemiconductor substrate 100 including the bit line contact plug 115 andthe bit line 120. In an embodiment, the second spacer 125 may include anitride film, and may fill in the void which may be formed at a side ofthe bit line contact plug 115.

As described above, since the first spacer 110 a is formed at the bottomof the bit line contact hole 107, the depth (d2) corresponding to agap-filled depth of the second spacer 125 is reduced. As a result, whena storage node contact hole is formed in a subsequent process, a SACfail can be prevented.

FIGS. 3A to 3G are cross-sectional views illustrating a method formanufacturing a semiconductor device shown in FIG. 2 according to anembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3A, a semiconductor substrate 100 is etched so that adevice isolation trench for defining the active region 103 is formed.Thereafter, the device isolation trench is filled with an oxide film,and a planarization etching process is performed, so that a deviceisolation film 105 is formed.

Referring to FIG. 3B, a mask pattern 108 is formed over thesemiconductor substrate 100. Thereafter, the semiconductor substrate 100is etched using the mask pattern 108 as an etch mask so that a bit linecontact hole 107 is formed. In an embodiment, the active region 103 mayprotrude from a center part of the bit line contact hole 107 due to adifference in etch selection ratio between the active region 103 and thedevice isolation film 105. The active region 103 shown in FIGS. 3A to 3Gis a cross-sectional view taken along a short-axis of the active region103.

Referring to FIG. 3C, after the mask pattern 108 is removed, a spacerinsulation film 110 is deposited in the bit line contact hole 107.Preferably, the spacer insulation film 110 may be formed of a materialincluding a nitride film. In an embodiment, the spacer insulation film110 is deposited along sidewalls of the bit line contact hole 107 andover the protruded active region 103, so as to form a recess over theprotruded active region 103 as shown in FIG. 3C.

Referring to FIG. 3D, a lateral etch process is performed so that thespacer insulation film 110 remains only over the sidewalls and bottom ofthe bit line contact hole 107. The remaining spacer insulation film 110is referred to as a first spacer 110 a. The spacer insulation film 110may be etched until the top of the active region 103 is exposed duringthe lateral etch process. Therefore, the first spacer 110 a may beformed at a sidewall of the bit line contact hole 107. A light etchtreatment (LET) scheme may be employed for the lateral etch process.More preferably, a wet etch scheme may be employed, or a lateral etchprocess may be performed using a gas, including any of SF, O₂, N₂, HBrand a combination thereof. In this case, the LET scheme may be performedusing a mixed gas of CF₄ and O₂ through a downstream-based etchingdevice. A LET process is advantageous because it cures a substratesurface, which is damaged in the etching process.

In addition, the lateral etch process is performed until the top of theactive region 103 is exposed. That is, the first spacer 110 a is formedto expose the top surface of the active region 103, which protrudes inthe bit line contact hole 107. Preferably, the first spacer 110 a formedat the bottom of the bit line contact hole 107 may be formed to be thelevel to a top surface of the protruded active region 103. Preferably,the portion of the first spacer 110 a formed at the bottom of the bitline contact hole 107 may be formed to have a larger thickness than theportion of the first spacer 110 a formed at a sidewall of the bit linecontact hole 107.

Referring to FIG. 3E, a polysilicon layer, a barrier metal layer (notshown), a bit line conductive layer 120 a, and a bit line hard masklayer 120 b are sequentially formed over the entire surface of thesemiconductor substrate 100 including the bit line contact hole 107 inwhich the first spacer 110 a is formed. After that, a mask pattern (notshown) defining a bit line is formed over the bit line hard mask layer120 b. The bit line hard mask layer 120 b, the bit line conductive layer120 a, the barrier metal layer (not shown) and the polysilicon layer areetched using the above-mentioned mask pattern (not shown) as an etchmask, so that the bit line 120 and the bit line contact plug 115 areformed. In other words, the bit line 120 and the bit line contact plug115 are simultaneously etched. The bit line contact plug 115 may beformed by etching the polysilicon layer. Thus, an inner GBL (Global BitLine), including the bit line contact plug 115, is formed in the bitline contact hole 107, and an empty space, denoted as ‘A’, is formedbetween a lateral surface of the bit line contact plug 115 and the firstspacer 110 a formed at a sidewall of the bit line contact hole 107.

Referring to FIG. 3F, a second spacer 125 is formed over the entiresurface of the semiconductor substrate 100 including the bit linecontact plug 115 and the bit line 120. The second spacer 125 fully fillsthe empty space A shown in FIG. 3E. In this case, since the first spacer110 a is formed to a predetermined thickness at the bottom of the bitline contact hole 107, the depth (d2) filled by the second spacer 125becomes shallower, so that a gap-filling problem caused by a high aspectratio during the formation of the second spacer 125 can be solved. Thesecond spacer 125 may be formed of the same material as the first spacer110 a. For example, the second spacer 125 may be formed of a materialincluding a nitride film.

Referring to FIG. 3G, an interlayer insulation film 130 is formed overthe entire surface including the second spacer 125. Thereafter, a maskpattern (not shown) defining a storage node contact hole is formed overthe interlayer insulation film 130, and the interlayer insulation film130 and the second spacer 125 are etched using the above-mentioned maskpattern (not shown) as an etch mask, so that a storage node contact hole135 is formed and a cleaning process is then performed. The interlayerinsulation film 130 is formed of a material, such as an oxide film, thathas an etch selectivity ratio different from that of the spacerinsulation film 125. As a result, the second spacer 125 formed atsidewalls of the bit line 120 is not damaged and damage to the bit line120 and the bit line contact plug 115 can be prevented. As can be seenfrom FIG. 3F, the second spacer 125 can fill a void between the bit linecontact plug 115 and the first spacer 110 a, preventing a Self AlignContact (SAC) fail from occurring in the course of formation of thestorage node contact hole 135.

As is apparent from the above description, a semiconductor device and amethod for forming the same according to an embodiment of the presentinvention, the first spacer is formed at the bottom of the bit linecontact hole, and the resultant first spacer is increased in thickness,so that the depth of the second spacer, which is deposited after theformation of the bit line and the bit line contact plug and fills a voidbetween the bit line contact plug and the first spacer, is reduced. As aresult, formation of a void can be prevented in the formation of thesecond spacer, and a SAC fail can also be prevented in the formation ofthe storage node contact hole, which is formed in a subsequent process.

The above embodiments of the present invention are illustrative and notlimitative. Various alternatives and equivalents are possible. Theinvention is not limited by the embodiments described herein. Nor is theinvention limited to any specific type of semiconductor device, Otheradditions, subtractions, or modifications are obvious in view of thepresent disclosure and are intended to fall within the scope of theappended claims.

1-9. (canceled)
 10. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor devicecomprising: etching a semiconductor substrate including an activeregion, and forming a bit line contact hole from which the active regionis protruded; forming a first spacer over a sidewall and a bottom of thebit line contact hole such that a surface of the active region isexposed; forming a bit line contact plug and a bit line over the exposedactive region; and forming a second spacer between the bit line contactplug and the first spacer.
 11. The method according to claim 10,wherein, in the forming of the bit line contact hole, a width of the bitline contact hole is larger than a short-axis length of the activeregion.
 12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the forming of thefirst spacer includes: depositing an insulation film over the bit linecontact hole including the protruded active region; and performing anetch process until a surface of the protruded active region is exposedand the insulation film remains over the sidewall and bottom of the bitline contact hole.
 13. The method according to claim 12, wherein theetch process is a lateral etch process.
 14. The method according toclaim 13, wherein the lateral etch process is performed using a LightEtch Treatment (LET) scheme.
 15. The method according to claim 13,wherein the lateral etch process is performed using a wet etch scheme.16. The method according to claim 12, wherein the etch process isperformed using a gas including any of SF₆, O₂, N₂, HBr, and acombination thereof.
 17. The method according to claim 10, wherein theforming of the bit line contact plug and the bit line includes: forminga polysilicon layer, a barrier metal layer, a bit line conductive layerand a hard mask layer over the substrate in the bit line contact hole;forming a mask pattern defining a bit line over the hard mask layer; andetching the hard mask layer, the bit line conductive layer, the barriermetal layer, and the polysilicon layer using the mask pattern definingthe bit line as an etch mask.
 18. The method according to claim 17,wherein the barrier metal layer is formed of any of a titanium (Ti)film, a titanium nitride (TiN) film, and a combination thereof
 19. Themethod according to claim 17, wherein the bit line conductive layer isformed of a material including tungsten (W).
 20. The method according toclaim 17, wherein the bit line hard mask layer is formed of a materialincluding a nitride film.
 21. The method according to claim 17, wherein,in the etching of the polysilicon layer, the polysilicon layer ispatterned to form the bit line contact plug.
 22. The method according toclaim 10, wherein the second spacer is formed to fill the bit linecontact hole formed at sidewalls of the bit line contact plug.
 23. Themethod according to claim 12, wherein the insulation film is formed of amaterial including a nitride film.
 24. The method according to claim 10,the method further comprising: after forming the second spacer, forminga storage node contact plug adjacent to the bit line. 25-26. (canceled)